Dominion Stealing the Seeds of Independence | Darkwire Dominion of Surron

[Darkwire Prophet]

In her line of work, Sola had to be very careful how much she appeared in person these days. As nondescript as she tried to appear in her boss's shadow, the Firrerreo woman still wound up being recognized in places she didn't expect. Her face was known in some circles, which made her rely on comms and proxies to do the work that she felt was truly right. Work that would have her fired and jailed if Marlene Starlight or CorpSec ever found out.

"All you wingless types smell alike to me."

The blithe statement was reassuring to her, even though Sola suspected the Surronian before her didn't know the impact of their words. She couldn't quite tell what gender the representative was that she met in this dingy tavern, or if that was even a notable facet of the insectoid race that called Surron their home. Their indistinct nature was certainly something that the Corporate Authorities were happy to take advantage of.

That Sola felt a little differently was the main reason she had sought out this contact.

After all, her involvement with Marlene and the Starlight Industries negotiations with the Surronian guilds were how she learned about the divisions between their peoples. She was surprised to find that a race which obeyed a hive mind could brag, but there was no other term for what the Shipwright Guild representatives had talked about during one of the recent meetings. Withholding critical supplies of their dissenters was surely meant to reinforce the confidence the Authorities were placing in the Shipwright Guild, and their allies. Starlight was effectively mounting a hostile takeover of an entire world, the margin for error was slim.

And that was a margin that Sola intended to push wide open.

"I'll consider that a compliment, Worker Reeka," Sola mentioned, putting on a gracious smile. She still didn't know if their race understood smiles, none of the three Surronians seated before her gave any indication of a reaction. She sat down in the empty chair that wasn't offered to her, for much the same reason, she assumed, as her smile had no impact. At least the Surronians seemed to understand Basic. "Your message sounded urgent, so let's talk business."

"Urgent? Yes. The survival of our Guild depends on it!"

Sola nodded, but her insectoid companion didn't take that as a prompt to continue alone. None of the others chose to speak, either, leaving only the one named Reeka to carry the conversation on their end. "And what can Darkwire do for the Agriculture Guild?"

"You can take back what is rightfully ours. The Trade Guild has been keeping it for weeks now, and the seeds will die in three days if not restored to our care. Only our hive knows how to recreate the right conditions to germinate them."

"Right," she nodded again, just an unconscious response at this point. Plus, if her insectoid client couldn't understand it, there was no harm in the gesture. "So why not go get it yourself?"

"The Trade Guild's hivequeen refuses to let us enter the spaceport to retrieve it! We dare not cross her, even if she is not our queen."

It was no wonder the Corporate Authorities found Surron attractive. An entire planet that could be controlled by a few key players. If the Surronians were unwilling, or even unable, to defy even a competing hive's queen, that made them the perfect laborers for the Authorities. No rebellion, no crime, no dissent. Just pure obedience. The notion sent a chill down the woman's spine.

"And what does Darkwire get if we retrieve these seeds for you?" she questioned at last. Sola might not need the payment, but no shadowrunner would do the job without it.

"We have credits, of course. Our hivequeen resists as much as she can, but without the seeds she will be forced to accede to consensus with the Traders, Shipwrights, and the other queens on their side. Your efforts will be well rewarded."

Sola took the datapad from Reeka, scanning it over until she spotted the figure proposed. It was more than sufficient, she decided, and nodded her agreement. "Then you have a deal. This is all of the details?"

"We are not a private race, we do not keep secrets. We have shared everything you need to retrieve the seeds."

"Good," Sola agreed. Then her face turned dark, looking at them earnestly, as if she would glean anything from their blank faces. "And if Darkwire encounters any resistance from the Trade Guild?"

"Their hivequeen will not miss a few workers. Even our lives are expendable, if you choose to kill us."

"I think I'll let you live," Sola said, a wry chuckle escaping her lips. The humor seemed lost on the insectoid.

"As you wish. Our business is concluded until you have the seeds."

Sola nodded one last time, standing up from her chair. "You will hear from my people soon. We'll get your seeds, don't worry. Just have those credits ready."

Soon after Sola left the bar, a new posting by the Darkwire Prophet went up over the CryptNet:

Darkwire Prophet

>> * --xING! COMM\ \\
<\URGENT DARKWIRE CONTRACT AVAILABLE ON SURRON
<\Corpo interference has created divisions between the Surronian Guilds
<\The Trade Guild is withholding critical seeds from the Agriculture Guild in the spaceport
<\Retrieve them and deliver to the Agriculture Guild
<\The seeds are a bargaining chip for the guild, damage or destruction of the seeds will fail job
<\Light or no resistance expected on entry, moderate resistance expected on exit
<\Significant payment will be remitted on completion of contract.

OBJECTIVE 1: Stealing the Seeds
Assist the Agriculture Guild to resist the Corpo takeover! Infiltrate the spaceport and retrieve the seed shipment from the Trader Guild who are holding it hostage. The Surronian hives may not miss a few of their workers, but be careful, the more you kill the more they'll send against you! There might be other ways to get in and out without resorting to violence, even insectoids must have needs that can be exploited right?

OBJECTIVE 2: Scuttling the Ships
Tired of the intrigue and restraint? Eager to deal a direct blow to the Corpos? Emphasis on the blow part. Starlight Industries has effected a hostile takeover of Surron StarTech, turning it into a Corpo proxy on Surron. Wouldn't it be a shame if their quarterly profits suddenly went negative? Blow up a ship or two under construction, that should keep the Corpos in the red for a while.

BRING YOUR OWN OBJECTIVE:
If there's something else you want to explore here, write your own story.

Spoiler: Tag List

Airal Thamne
Aren D'Shade
Brie Jaxx
Cartri Keswoll
Cassus Akovin
Chelara "Chel" DuCote
Chloe Santhe
Daiya
Extari Kanos
Gray Venasir
Hacks
Haden Del
Helena
Marimax Lacroix
Mliss Roo
Rook.the.slicer
Shira Varanin
Spark
Venku Bralor
Xan Deesa
Yula Perl

 

[Lance of Dreams]

​

Lance of Dreams was a quite individual, recluse in his own personal studies, contemplating the mind and its "separation" from the machine. This curious natural division between minds, and their different experiences led the eccentric cybernetist to developing mind altering technologies. His work with iBorg had in fact been some of the best work he had ever accomplished. The debut of the Othermind Node was heralded as the great social equalizer that could bring peaceful species closer together. It was also heavily criticized for its strong link, connection, and possible misuses of negatively connotated interrogative torture technology.

Unable to make something that can please everyone was merely par for the course, and Lance of Dreams was otherwise undeterred by the critics, as they would come to understand its critical uses as he did, given time. They were lead by fear, where he was unfettered in his pursuit for mental unity. He knew this because he contracted Darkwire to deliver a few of them to him so that he could know exactly what went through their life to bring them to their current state. When they reacted badly to his "invasion", it was clear that they did not understand the value their lives added to his, and so in understanding this, set them up to understand the life of Lance of Dreams. Though, much too busy with his work, he used a digitized copy of his memories so they could dream in peace while he continued to conduct his good work.

To help silence the other critics he didn't manage to gather, he decided to release an early alpha program that preceded the Othermind Node, before the offending implements became involved. It was iBorgs first "cyberdrug", the Elise Node, allowing for the first time droids and biologicals to enjoy a lucid virtual shared-dream state, though the interactions were completely subjective and many regard them as fictitious fantasies that merely involve other people known to exist and extrapolated by the program, as the drug worked regardless of network connectivity being present. It was fairly popular with few real critics, except those critics who merely held fear for the one who developed it.

He was fairly concerned, however, when a series of Corporate rivals appeared to have copied large portions of his designs, and released their own "entertainment system" in the form of CYBERDRIVE on Parcellus Minor. He managed to acquire a copy, before its release, from Darkwire. Ever since, Lance of Dreams has been careful about his work, while investigating exactly who was stealing his intellectual properties. He knew it was inevitable his designs would eventually exchange hands, but did not expect such terrible misuse as witnessed on that day. In response to this, and in part due to the reliability of the Darkwire organization with his interests, he developed a piece of technology for their Shadowrunners to better keep a unity of mind, a non-invasive, selectively invisible tattoo that allows them to utilize a long distance virtual mental space for perfectly secure point to point communication unable to be tracked or intercepted... so far. Cybersecurity, after all, can only stay ahead of exploits for a short while before it is ultimately undermined and necessitating new innovation.

Nonetheless, the cyborg scientist continued his work and research, which brought him to the world of Surron. While corporate overreach and criminal intrigue continued, he had decided that the unity of mind found within the Hives of Surron to be fascinating. He was to meet with an Agricultural Guild, but was waiting for a "local" botany expert who also had a scientific inquiry to explore.

Mir Nehrahn

 

[Gray Venasir]

Objective 1: Steal the Seeds
Post 1
With: Rika

Surron hadn't been on Gray's "to go to" list. Very far from it, in fact. The planet was inhabited by a weird insectoid species, who were all parts of hive minds. All of them having the same thoughts, and none being able to control what they wanted or did? That was not something Gray wanted to experience. But when duty calls, you pick up the phone.

"The Darkwire Prophet" had sent out a job offer on the CryptNet, something about... seeds, having been stolen from a Surronian guild, called the Agriculture Guild. And these seeds were somehow important, though Gray had no idea why a few seeds could be this important. But luckily, he wouldn't have to do this job alone. One of his Darkwire associates, Jorj Kell, had agreed to join him for the job. And though Gray didn't want to admit it, he was extremely glad he wouldn't have to do it alone. Hive minds made him really uncomfortable, and on certain occasions, scared him.

The two Shadowrunners had agreed to meet at a local café, to discuss their plan for getting these... seeds. Gray had landed on the planet early, and tried to snoop around, get to know the planet somewhat before the mission, and maybe find some information they could use. But it was to no avail. So he just made his way to the café instead. Once there, he could see no sign of Jorj. Nevertheless, he found a small table for them to use once the other showed up, and ordered a coffee to wait with.

The café seemed pretty empty, which was good. Easier to talk in private. But it made Gray think that it was probably made for use only by off-worlders. "Guess the bugs don't have much need for places like this, if they all follow the will of one mind," he mused to himself, as he tasted the coffee.

 

[Daiya]

Objective 2: Scuttling the Ships
Tags: Noah Gloom Ruby Jaxx

[Post Soundtrack: "Scream and Be Free" by Hanson]​

It almost didn't seem real anymore. After watching, time and time again, how the Corporate Authorities managed to snag new worlds into their clutches. It seemed only last week that trouble at Luminous Sun's new casino had spiraled into the Corpos assuming control on Bovo Yagen. And the young shadowrunner was still upset by how easily she, and the rest of Darkwire, were so easily hoodwinked on Parcellus Minor.

World after world, scheme after scheme, the Corpos seemed like they had no way to lose.

Not this time, Daiya resolved to herself. She gazed out the window of the starship as Noah brought it in for a landing. The girl had heard of Surron StarTech's massive shipyards, and how just the sale of one of those starships could support the bug people for a year. She had seen plenty of starships coming into port on her homeworld, Denon's spaceports and docking bays were always busy with newcomers, but few of those ships had ever impressed like the StarTech designs did. Even under construction, the ship hulls were nothing less than true works of art.

Now Daiya could see why the Corpos were working so hard to gobble up this world, too. She set her jaw, tightening the expression on her face. She felt a little sad about what they were about to do, but once @Scherezade de Winter had suggested the idea to her, she knew there was no other way. If she was really lucky, the call she had made to the other Agents of Chaos would result in some of them showing up to help.

"Those ships are going to look really pretty when they explode," the girl remarked to the ship's pilot. Circumstances had her teaming up with Noah Corek, whose other talents also included running a medical clinic and looking out for young women in bars. Daiya had never seen him in action on the ground, but she sure hoped that he was as talented with a blaster as he was with a scalpel. "I've never seen it happen up close, just from holos. Have you?"

Daiya eyed the hold full of explosives that was intended to undo all the progress that StarTech had made on the ship hulls so far. Starlight Industries would have to start work on their new acquisition from scratch, and with any luck that would foil the rest of their plans for Surron. "I can't wait!"

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Objective 2​

"Sales are down on Geonosis."

The boy sat back, looking at the Rodian accountant who served as their Chief Financial Officer.

Old habits died hard. One of the first things that the boy had done had been to throw out the so-called long table. Instead, Corellia Digital's board of directors met in a room that was styled after the Jedi Council chambers during the Old Republic. The Temple on Coruscant where Sor-Jan had trained as a boy. Holographic displays rotated around the center of the round, where the directors occupied the chairs in a circle.

"With 'Confederacy First' its hard to compete when we're seen as imports."

The small Anzat looked over at the logistics chief who had spoken. He was the only one actually in the room. Instead, the board were represented by holographic projections of themselves. Most on Corellia or Selonia. A few on Talus or Tralus. Marque in the hologame development lab located on Drall.

"With the loss of the Outer Planets Alliance, the economy in the Kathol Republic has suffered a catastrophic market collapse."

"Fourth quarter earnings in the Galactic Alliance and Concordia were supposed to make up for our budget shortfall, but the markets have fallen in response to uncertainty over this treaty with the Sith Empire."

One hardly needed to read the business section of the newspaper to know that it was bad news all around.

Leaning forward, the Anzat chimed in. "I've made overtures to the New Imperial Order," the tow-headed youth intoned flatly. Hardly the first time that Corellia Digital had reached an olive branch toward an Imperial faction. Their operating system had been developed using investments secured by an Imperial Remnant. But it certainly wasn't the norm for the company launched by the combined sponsorship of the Silver Jedi and the Outer Rim Coalition. "I am debating contacting the government of Supreme Chancellor Natasi Fortan as well..."

"Leader, sir."

Glancing over at pink-hued Zeltron who'd spoken, the boy paused a moment before he asked, "Pardon?"

"Supreme Leader is the style of the First Order."

The boy inclined his head toward the Zeltron. At least his spy-chief-turned-video-game-designer was able to keep up with these things. "I stand corrected," the boy noted dryly.

Placing his hands on his thights, the boy's gray eyes looked around the room. "I won't lie. This year has been horrible with market volatility and nothing we've seen has indicated that the political situation is going to improve before the end of the year. We should be be prepared to brief the shareholders that we are taking a loss for the year."

[ "Bridge to General Xantha. We are arriving in the Surron System." ]

Glancing up at the disembodied voice of the comm, the boy spoke and noted, "If you'll excuse me, I am meeting with Surron StarTech."

The holograms were restless. "Why was the Board not informed of this meeting?"

The Anzat tipped his head slightly in the direction of the speaker. They knew why. The board would have said no. And Sor-Jan much preferred asking forgiveness over begging permission. "While Chancellor Adhira Chandra 's administration has certainly not been bad for us, I think we need to explore options for manufacturing and production outside the Alliance."

"This is the Corellia Digital Corporation."

The boy smiled faintly. Rising from his chair, he stepped into the middle of the round. "When I picked this company up from bankruptcy, Corellia was underneath the control of the One Sith," the boy noted pointedly, adding, "We made that work, and Corellia had traded hands with several governments since then. All of those bloodless transitions," the youth noted. He paused there a moment before continuing. "We cannot take for granted the assumption that will always be the case. I think it is imperative on me as the executive to have a continuity of operations plan."

Looking around the room, the boy paused again. "In the worst case scenario, I'll source the cost of parts and labor, and then the board can go over my head to the trustees," he remarked candidly. Then, holding up one hand, added, "But ask yourselves this... is having our means of production located in a single star system a sustainable corporate model?"

"Made in Corellia has been the bedrock of our marketing."

The boy gave a nod. It was, after all, a true statement. Instead, he shrugged and offered, "All I seek, is to present options."

His tone dropped, the smile faded away, as the boy instead flatly noted, "I don't need your permission for that."

Leaving it there, the boy raised a hand and snapped his fingers. On cue, the hologram connection was severed. "Xantha out," the boy murmured under his breath.

Well, here was hoping the next meeting on today's agenda went better...

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Tags: Daiya & Noah Gloom​

Ruby had been sneaking around on Surron for a few days now. Laying low had never been her strongest suit, but she was doing a rather impressive job this time, if she said so herself. She'd been posing as a new StarTech crew member, which easily explained away her general incompetence when it came to the job and doing any actual work. But she'd managed to spend most of her days on endless smoke breaks and lunch times. They didn't seem to miss her.

During her time here, she'd seen the ships that would soon serve the Corporate Interests... unless their plan played out.

The craftsmanship looked pretty nice, it seemed like something the Corpos would definitely be interested in. Good looks like that meant one thing: cash money. So far, Ruby had bumbled through several missions, but nothing that she'd consider major. This would change today. This was some underhanded shiz that they were getting into right here. And it was gonna be great.

Moving to the meeting spot, Ruby waited and watched the sky.

Her Darkwire contacts -- some kid and some guy-- would be arriving soon. Actually, Ruby had seen this girl named Daiya before. The little blonde always made Ruby stop and double take, 'what's a kid like her doing here?' And the guy, well, she didn't recognize the name yet. Gloom or Bloom? Something like that. Ruby just hoped they came through on their end of the bargain. After all, they played a fairly important part in all this. They had the goods, the very explosive goods.

 

[Niki Priddy]

OBJECTIVE 2

Niki, or if one went by her name tag, Cairistiona Dior Kerdor Nichol Cartulla Priddy. Kindly provided by the lovely people inquiring about a few pieces of her technological drafts for weapons and ships. Throwaway designs really. Things that didn't fit with the motif of the Agents of Chaos. She had been contacted as a possible distraction, and maybe even chaos inducing agent. Nerves had initially made her leery about attempting to live up to the title that others had earned through blood and combat.

But the realization that chaos was far more than fighting from Scherezade deWinter had ironed out the issue of nerves getting in the way.

Which made the pink contact covered eyes behind sunglasses strolled into the waiting room for potential investors and designers. She had shot the idea of becoming a possible contributor to the shipyard with her eye for design and ability to generate with quick turn around. References given by a fake employer from a history that never existed.

Which wasn't something Niki was going to bring up as she and three others in a chain brought in two large plasteel travel cases containing prototype designs rendered in plasteel, datapads containing diagrams and drafts, along with a few of the rebreather pieces she had made. In a sealed and sensor masked compartment at the bottom however, a custom carrier had been installed with an inlaid trap door that held a surprise bit of cargo as the wheels ground across the entry way and came to a stop.

Everything around her seemed so orderly and neat.

It almost made her feel bad for what she was going to do.

The containers were bulky, each scanned as Niki held her breath for a long moment and each one passed after opening the contents for them to be briefly examined. They all passed with flying colors as they were escorted to a side room. Not the most prestigious looking one that CEO's and such graced, but the lifeless and drab rooms that interrogations interviews happened in.

There was a brief exchange as she was approached by a Surronian representative.

"Apologies, but a scheduling issue has come up. If you could perhaps wait for a time here in this presentation room, we will be with you shortly." They informed her, a mock sense of dejection being allowed to appear on her face before replacing it with a soft smile and a nod.

"That is quite alright. Please contact me via intercom when you are headed this way if you would please. I startle easily and don't want to drop anything." Niki informed them, receiving a soft nod as the other three moved the cases into a wheel formation as Niki checked for camera's in the room.

They were just trustful enough to leave her without a camera in the room.

Their mistake.

 

[Airal Thamne]

The perk to being a smuggler was that it was easy to dock in ports. This was the easy part, her ship was docked to the very space port. The hard part was securing the cargo. This wasn't a normal smuggling operation. This was where they needed to not only smuggle the seeds but secure them. That part she hadn't figure out yet but her cargo ship was empty and hooked to the space port. Hopefully with the rest of the crew, they could get these seeds loaded and be on their way out. She figured if nothing else, she could be the get away driver. The cargo bots were waiting for the cargo, her men were ready to assist. All that was missing was someone to help get the actual seeds to her ship. She send a comm over their secure channel. "In position at the exit, cargo hold is open and ready to load."

Gray Venasir | Rika

 

[Rika]

Objective: 1 - Steal Seeds
Tags: Gray Venasir | Airal Thamne

Who steals seeds? They grow in the ground. Then sprout. Then grow. Then flower. Then there are more seeds. Some don't survive. Others do.

How silly was it that a group held any kind of power by stealing a seed? To Jorj, who had gardened his whole life on Parcellus before leaving for Denon, this all seemed ludicrous. At least, that was, until he arrived on Surron. The pragmatic insectoid inhabitants revered any progress. A seed that performed to a better specification was progress. And there was no arguing with them.

On top of that, the planet was a mass of technology-minded projects. If not for the Agricultural Guild, the place would be just like Denon, one big city. As it was, the seed they had developed was supposedly special because it performed as well in hydroponic settings as it did in natural dirt and water and sunlight. Jorj wasn't always a big fan of hydroponics. He liked to taste the dirt when he ate a leaf. But if he had to choose a ship with a hydroponics station and one with recycler-food or rations? He went hydroponics every time.

He'd hopped a ride on one of the many Corporate ships emigrating to Surron on the premise of expanding business. The job had come word of mouth through more Darkwire folks again and Jorj was eager to help where he could. He'd been drinking less as of late and needed something to occupy his brain so he didn't crave a drink. Fortunately, he was meeting his contact at a café.

The lightly bearded man was sitting at a table nursing a coffee when Jorj arrived. He got a latte for himself and sat down next to the Darkwire agent, his long, Leporine ears perking up. "Good to see you again, Gray. Shall we get a move on? This data pod thingy rang and I think someone else is already far further along."

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Objective 2​

The Anzat had a Holostation Switch in his lap.

There had been a time that he'd have insisted on flying the shuttle. Or even had the Alderaan Queen in the hangar bay of the Intervention. Those days were long past now. The YT-2400 light freighter had been resting outside of the Corellia Digital Building on Drall for longer than the boy would have been comfortable admitting.

No, there was a pilot droid at the helm of the executive shuttle that departed the corporate flagship. Sor-Jan sat back in the luxurious cabin, losing the transit time in a few levels of Endormon Let's Go.

The tell-tale shifts in the shuttle cued the boy as to their arrival. Leaving the holo-game console on the seat, the boy stood and grabbed a green cloak from off a coat rack by the airlock. Throwing it on, the Corellian Jedi emerged from out of the shuttle to find one of the insectoid Surrons waiting for him at the landing.

As a Jedi Knight, Sor-Jan had served as an envoy to countless worlds for the Republic, both before and during the Clone Wars. While he had never served in that capacity for the Levantine Sanctum or Silver Jedi, his experience as the chief executive of Corellia Digital had been more or less the same. An attendant waiting to guide him to a lounge that had been prepared for whatever it was to be discussed.

So far, everything has proceeded exactly as he had envisioned.

That was, until the door opened and he found himself across the table from a human.

"Mister Xantha, we're honored to have your presence."

He paused in the doorway. This didn't feel right. This didn't feel right at all. It was a moment before he was able to put his finger on just what it was.

Sor-Jan was an Anzat. They were a telepathic species. It was a hunting mechanism for them, but served a great many purposes. It was fantastic for cheating at cards, for example. More practically speaking, it meant that Sor-Jan was empathically aware of the people in the room.

Except he didn't read anything from this woman.

Finally, the boy took a step forward, "I was expecting Hao'zu," the youth recalled in a neutral tone. With his eyes, he was sizing the woman up. Through the Force, he could discern her being. So she was not a droid. Or a hologram. She was real, except he couldn't read her emotions.

As though reading his, the woman coldly answered, "We don't always get what we want, Mister Xantha."

The boy only gave a curt nod in reply. This was definitely calculated. Had the Surrons decided to use some kind of third party? Nothing about their discussions had indicated any hesitancy with meeting with him.

The bait and switch didn't seem like his read on the Surrons at all. "Hao'zu and I are acquainted. You and I are not," the boy stated finally. "Where is Hao'zu?"

"I'm afraid the Surron StarTech staff are still being... sorted from the acquisition."

Sorted? That didn't sound ominous at all. "Acquisition?" the boy echoed, as his mind tried to quickly recall the financial news he'd looked at earlier that morning. Certainly no acquisitions that he was aware of. "What acquisition?"

"My name is Keande," the woman stated, setting a business identicard down on the table and sliding it over toward the boy. The company logo flashed up at him as she explained, "I represent Starlight Industries. We will taking over these negotiations."

He'd heard the name. And apparently underestimated a competitor for this sector. Crossing his arms, the boy looked up at the woman and just gave another nod.

Picking up a datapad, the woman noted, "We've reviewed the offer you made and have prepared a modest counter-proposal." With that, she handed the device out toward him.

The fact that he couldn't read her was unnerving. But, he imagined that was exactly the effect that Starlight Industries had intended. Accepting the datapad, the boy pulled up the draft contract and began scrolling through the terms.

Initial investment of triple the agreed to amount. Full liability for all tariffs, levies, fees... "You must be joking," the boy uttered, casually dropping the datapad down onto the table.

The woman merely gave a shrug. "If you're not interested, then perhaps there's someone else we should be speaking with. Locke and Key, perhaps?"

Locke and Key. One of their competitors in the Confederacy. A bit more weapons and ships, but a decent offering of technology. Sor-Jan had never met the man behind the operation, but he'd have a hard time imagining anyone accepting such one-sided terms in a partnership.

Dropping his arms, the boy didn't offer a courtesy in farewell. Instead, he merely said, "Good luck with that," and turned around and walked out.

His Surron escort apparently hadn't expected the negotiations to be so short. It seemed Sor-Jan was on his own to backtrack his steps to the shuttle landing.

As he walked, the boy brought his wrist com up. Tapping it active, he said, "Send to Marque , priority message:"

"Starlight Industries just took over Surron StarTech overnight. How the feth did that happen?"

 

[Noah Gloom]

Objective 2: Ground the Ship
Tags: Daiya l Ruby Jaxx
Equipment: Calor Clypeus, PMG-23, Hyaenem Dropship, Green Lightsaber
​

Noah carefully piloted the ship with a certain amount of grace as they began descending planet side. He turned it to autopilot as they began heading planet side, he turned to daiya sitting behind him. "Sorry I couldn't find anything better but this is one of the few ships that have been given to me. Call it a gift from once apon a time when I worked with Mirdirmorut to help heal one of their executives. Yes well they are currently in drydock which should make them easier to explode. Once fixed up a pirate ship jacker, told me a story about how he stole a ship from drydock and then used the weapons systems to destroy all the rest before jumping outta system in an attempt to get away with it. He almost did but a stowaway was onboard, rather fancy droid that sent the data straight back to the people he stole them from."

As they landed he looked around "Alright so we are looking for some Ruby woman. The data pack I had didn't have much more than that, well i guess she's been planetside for a while. So let's have a look around yeah." As he stepped out of the dropship with a big white circle and red cross on it. Just to make sure everyone knew it was a medical ship and they wouldn't fire on it. Still wouldn't get them close enough without raising attention but hoofing it would. "Well we are here suppose she's here somewhere in the surroundings so let's wait and see." He said standing up against the cockpit looking down at his robotic arm and playing with it. "Should have brought some more armour and maybe some more tools."

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

The Red Witch / Valeria Ragal
Aspect of Desire, Freelancer bountyhunter, agent and spy; secretly the Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire​

Objective: Stealing the Seeds
Location: Spaceport, Surron
Equipment: 2x Sigra vibroblade | 2x Striith vibrosword | Heilagr MK. I Assassin Armour | G1 OmniLink || Empyrean gland | Taozin amulet
Tag: Open

Well, that is, it is true that an Empress also needs hobbies. They’re mostly ones that even she loves to do and she doesn’t need her husband or fiancé. Exercise is exactly that, and the fact that behind the disguise of a bounty hunter she can deal with matters that are less important to her that do not affect the war, the Eternal Empire, or the Sith Empire, but her companies directly neither. And now luckily she found one on CryptNet.

That’s why she travelled to the planet Surron, where Darkwire was just “having troubles''. Ingrid had connection with the Darkwire for years, and even through the HPI Corporation, even has interests in the faction, where Vexillium was primarily interested. Anyway, it was long when the last time she was there was somewhere in the disguise of Valeria Ragal, the Red Witch, as she is known as a bounty hunter and freelance agent. In the old days, for a very long time, she acted with this identity and gained a reputation for herself. Even in the years before and in the CIS.

Now she arrived in a completely average spaceship, quite accurately with an average cargo-ship, she didn’t want to be noticed. She was in full-body armour, along with weapons and an ID chip certifying her bounty hunter identity. Under the armour, she even changed her form, so if someone wanted to see if she really was on the ID card, they would be sure of that. The task wasn’t too difficult, at least she thought it was really fun for her.

After arriving, she was briefly informed of the place she was looking for. Of course, she did all this unnoticed through Nite’s network, and once she had access to that, she used their own system. As a result, it took about ten minutes to get to the edge, the boundary of the part where the target was.

It was time to find out, too, whether she had inherited something from what the Night Spirit had made her, which, since that deity had created countless insect-like life forms in her life. Although she wanted to fight, it didn't hurt to test this either.

​

 

[Mir Nehrahn]

Objective: BYOO - ancillary to Objective 1
Tags: Lance of Dreams
Accompanied by: Kur Brile and Stannon

Everything was a seed at one point. No matter what origin a thing had, it began as a seed. Sometimes that was a metaphor. Ideas were a type of seed. Other times, the comparison was more literal. A fertilized egg was a type of seed, too. Mir was always fascinated by seeds, literal or metaphorical. That so much future could be contained in a miniaturized present was beyond amazing. Some would call that hope. But to Mir, the act of growing from a seed was not hope. The act was a matter of variables. The seed provided a framework upon which growth was built. An idea never began as a whole tome or working program. An idea began as a kernel of information that expanded until it came to fruition.

Metaphors aside, Mir had always been fascinated by seeds and by things resembling seeds. There was nothing more pure than playing out every variable a seed could be subjected to. Great things could be discovered within that framework, and greater still how they responded to various stimuli. That was why he was a scientist. To learn from seeds and variables.

"Here we are," Kur, his Duros companion said as the speeder set down outside of the buzzing hive that was the Agricultural Guild. There wasn't much nature on Surron. But that didn't stop there from being seeds. Beings needed to subsist. At which point, the life of a seed would truly end. Best to make the most of it.

They had been invited to the Agricultural Guild on something like a goodwill tour. Kur had informed Mir and Stannon about the theft of a new type of seed that the Surronians had developed. The hive had thought that bringing revered scientists associated with Darkwire in to view the project, scientists who were capable of seeing the value of their work, might help to motivate the rest of the agents in reacquiring the stolen seeds.

Mir didn't know about all of that. But he did not turn down an opportunity when presented. As long as that opportunity had something worth learning.

"You must be Lance... of Dreams?" Kur said as the trio approached the front entrance of the Agricultural Guild complex. Stannon, the Tynnan, waddled along nervously behind his two towering companions, Mir the Ithorian, and Kur, the Duros. There waiting for them was a man-machine. "We heard about you through Shenn. I know Mir is looking forward to this little tour."

The Duros gave Mir a little shove but Mir barely noticed. He would have said something anyway. <<Shall we enter?>> Mir said in Ithorian, his two-toned voice sing-songy without any attempt at being musical.

 

[Niki Priddy]

The door no sooner clicked shut than the trap doors on the sides of each crate popped open. A dozen jitterbugs from each slowly crept out, reassured by the presence of the woman holding their controller. She smiled at the little lovely spider esque things. Each carrying their disaster in a cannister as they ticked and tacked for a moment while waiting for direction.

One of the escorts produced a floor plan for the ducting as Niki looked it over, orienting herself to the blueprint before engaging the hand held controller. The twenty four little droids perked up as another guard propped open the vent grill before Niki flipped the screen on to her controller.

A particularly fancy looking spider mimic pawed the ground, establishing itself as the leader to the little demolition gang as the rest circled it and established their lines to follow behind.

After a brief exchange on the best way to get the droids inside the vent, each guard in the end picking a pair up at a time and feeding them into the ductwork slowly before the whole troop was inside.

Plopping herself atop a crate, she began to direct them through the airways leading towards the production floor on the other end of the building.

One guard worked on replacing the grill cover while the other two exited the room and stood watch outside while Niki looked to be playing a game. The nervous grin she wore betrayed nothing of the waiting chaos to follow as the small magnets on each jitterbugs leg engaged and kept them from sliding to and fro.

She began the first leg of their journey slowly, still orienting herself to the blueprint while anxiously glancing at the doors. The escort finished replacing the vent cover and stood by for a moment before busying themself with preparing the mock display. Niki chewed her lip as she stared at the screen, guiding the little droids carefully through a fan system before reaching the back half of the office portion. Several workers turned their head to listen as the droids passed through. The soft clicking of twenty four droids passing making a few submit requests to check the fans and ducting overhead as some thought a bearing in the fans was going out.

 

[Ripley Kühn]

OBJECTIVE 1: STEAL THE SEEDS
TAGS: OPEN

______________________________________

Seeds.

Ripley let out a small chuckle at the thought of stealing a bunch of seeds. It seemed quite absurd, a slicer who was used to cyberwarfare going to steal seeds for some backwoods farmers. Work had been sparse though, and she had to take what she could get. It wasnt even about the credits anymore- her brother had seen she was cared for and didn't have to worry about a thing, financially. The young Zeltron was just bored. She had tried to stay near her home, assisting with tech development when called upon, but she found herself longing for a sense of adventure. And thus, she was stealing seeds.

She had put word out to a few of her contacts to see if they had wanted to come along for the thrills, but had yet to hear word back- perhaps one or two would surprise her when she arrived. Ripley shifted slightly in her seat, feeling a little uncomfortable from how long she had been sitting, but the trip was near its end. She utilized the remaining time she had left, opening her holopad and studying the diagrams on the spaceport. There hadn't been much information widely available regarding layout or security measures, so the little bit she managed to get was invaluable. Going in blind was never a good feeling, but you had to roll with the punches. One thing she had learned was that the traders guild involved some kind of hive, and the more the bodies racked up, the more reinforcements came. That was alright though- Ripley knew how to be sneaky. With any luck, she wouldn't have to make use of her blaster at all.

 

[Daiya]

Objective 2: Scuttling the Ships
Equipment: Phase I Powderpunk Armor, Sneakthief Gloves, Raven Knife, 434 Blaster Pistol, DL-13 Holdout Blaster, Glitter Grenades, Holojournal
Nearby: Noah Gloom Ruby Jaxx
Tags: Sor-Jan Xantha Niki Priddy

[Post Soundtrack: "Persona" by Tsuko G]​

"Probably lucky for the rest of us," Daiya chuckled at the story about the almost-accomplished pirate and his thwarted escape from justice. "The last pirates I ran into decided to blow up the mall behind them, not the shipyard." The girl stared back at at the ships below them, squinting as if to spot any tiny figures running around. From this height, she couldn't see them. She closed her eyes tight for a moment, wishing that would be as true on the ground. When the teen opened them, her reality hadn't really changed. "But chit, yeah, that sucks. That's not happening to us."

The sturdy ship landed with a solid sound, and Daiya felt a sense of relief once more as she regained connection with the ground. The girl had no idea what Noah was apologizing for, the starship was perfectly fine, and his piloting was even better. He should just be glad she wasn't the one doing the driving!

A scoff escaped her lips when Noah described their contact. She followed him off the ship, mouth motoring behind him as she went, "Ruby? And I supposed she's a 'diamond in the rough' too?" The girl snorted at her own joke. "Maaan, we need to get her a new codename creator. What would that make us? Oh, I got it, you're Topaz and I'm Sapphire!"

As she stepped out of the dropship, Daiya looked around at the industrial landscape. It was dotted here and there with buildings, but most of it was just flat land, some of it paved with fenced yards full of storage containers or materials, and the rest just open fields like the one they had landed in. The sparse, spikey grass crunched under her customary combat boots as the young shadowrunner moseyed about, waiting as Noah did for their illusterously-named contact.

The girl piped up as Noah bemoaned his state of dress, rolling back a sleeve to show off her trick to the doctor, revealing her Powderpunk armor underneath. "I just wear mine under my clothes. Easier to conceal the armor, and then you don't have to keep changing during the day, too!"

Pulling out gloves from the satchel at her side, she put them, completing her armor needs for the day. Her newest acquisition, the Sneakthief gloves would probably help compensate for anything her dear doctor couldn't provide them in skills. Stretching the glove tight, Daiya waggled her fingers at Noah as a grin played over her face. Then it thinned out as the girl spied another figure across the way, "Oh, do you think that's her?" Daiya asked as she pointed to the woman in the distance. She called out, waving to the woman with a beckoning arm, "Ruby, over here!"

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Objective 2​

"This is masterful."

Before the boy, a holographic wire diagram chart stretched the full length of the presidential suite, wrapping along the walls as it sought to visually depict the complex web of purchases and holdings.

"If I had to guess, two or three of these were dummy corporations from the start."

The holographic rendering of the Zeltron supplied the one-part commentary, one-part analysis of the situation. "They had to have been orchestrating this for months," the Anzat noted aloud, trying his best to follow the money. Even where Marque had been able to (and astonishing quickly) connect the dots of the various regulatory filings and disclosures, Sor-Jan was having a hard time following the money. "Acquiring shares across the web of distributed holdings, so that it wouldn't appear to trace back to Starlight Industries. My every idea is Surron StarTech had no idea that someone had gathered a majority stake until Starlight showed up to a shareholder meeting."

"I'm still not clear on a few of the details on these transactions."

"We should do a comprehensive review of where our own stock is at," Sor-Jan remarked candidly, before turning back toward the life-sized hologram. "Who owns it and how much?"

"Corell Financial should have that information ready now."

The boy shook his head. Pacing around the room, he raised a finger. It wagged in the air silently for a moment, as the Anzat composed his thoughts. "No, something about the missing data here suggests to me that Starlight had someone inside StarTech," the former Jedi opined finally.

It was entirely guess, but it seemed logical.

"We should have an external organization come in to conduct the review."

"Who the feth would you trust with that level of access?"

An excellent question. Who the feth would he trust with that level of access to the company's records? Which would include the evidence of their dealings with Scherezade deWinter and her merry band of planetary rights activists. Not to mention the receipts from the dealings with the One Sith, which he had tastefully refrained from revealing to the Silver Jedi during the corporate sponsorship negotiations.

Not a lie. An omission. After all, at the time, Corellia had been a Sith planet. Sor-Jan couldn't exactly have avoided conducting business with the Sith.

Siobhan Kerrigan came to mind. Firemane and Corellia Digital had several contracts. His encryption technology. Her colossus reactors. And non-disclosure agreements on either side to protect the proprietary rights of either company.

No. The reason that companies relied upon contracts was specifically so that they didn't have to trust one another. They could, instead, rely on fines and penalties, potentially forced corporate breakups or dissolutions, to maintain their legal obligations toward one another.

He needed someone he'd trust even without a contract. And that meant someone who was a Jedi.

"I'll reach out to Matsu Ike ," Sor-Jan opined finally, looking back up at the hologram of Marque . "Sasori Research has been incorporated for longer than us. A company that size is going to have the same concerns as us regarding the potential for public ownership to carve a path for a hostile takeover."

"So, the Surron deal is off the table."

The boy crossed his arms. He inclined his head toward the hologram, but was obviously unsettled by that prospect. "The problem is, now they're talking about reaching out to Locke and Key," the boy noted pointedly. Looking back up, he admitted, "I'd prefer to keep our competition in the Confederacy."

Pacing again, the boy fell quiet for a bit. "We need to get Starlight Industries back to the negotiating table, on our terms," he remarked aloud.

"And we're going to do that... how?"

The boy mulled that over. Then, inclining his head toward the Zeltron, said, "By finding those missing pieces of data."

 

[Gray Venasir]

Objective 1
Post 2
Tags: Rika | Airal Thamne



When the other man, Jorj Kell, arrived, Gray gave a nod towards him, so he would notice him. It had obviously worked, as he came over and sat down. "Good to see you too, Jorj," replied Gray. "It's been too long. But you're right, we should get going." With that, Gray put some credits on the table, enough to cover the bill, and lead the way out.

"I don't suppose you know anything more about these 'seeds', than I do?" he asked. To Gray, it seemed absurd that the Shadowrunners would be called upon to fetch a few seeds for some bugs. What could even be so important about these seeds that someone was willing to pay good money to get them back? Was the 'seeds' just a code for something else, or a wrong translation from the Surronians? Could it be their children, or something related to their whole society?

The café wasn't far from the spaceport where the seeds were supposed to be, so the walk there was quick. But it was more than enough time for Gray to be creeped out by the soulless faces of the Surronians, and getting the feeling that they were watching his every move. The faster they could get done with this, the happier Gray would be about it.

"Okay, so we have a pilot standing ready to transport the seeds away. Good. Wonder if anyone else has also decided to take this job, and will try to steal it from under our noses." The job offer had gone out to all the Shadowrunners, so there could very well be opposition from their own. "What's our plan here?" asked Gray, once they arrived near the spaceport. "Blasting our way in will not work, as the 'seeds' needs to be unharmed. Try to bluff our way in, maybe?"

 

[Airal Thamne]

Objective 1: Steal the Seeds
"Well if you can fake the paperwork, might be able to get them to load it onto my ship themselves." Those were the best bluffs. "That is if either of you are good enough to fake the transfer order." She knew where her skills lied and that sort of paper trails were tough to fake. Plus she wasn't really one for slicing. The most she was good at was hiding what was really on her ship. That however didn't really apply yet. "Hopefully no one else has but we should get a move on. However don't let me rush perfection. Take your time on whatever route we take." Better to do this job right after all. She of course had weapons on standby but hopefully she didn't need to use them. For once maybe they should go the stealth path. The ship was on standby, she was ready to aid and the other two were about to enter. It seemed that everything was going good so far. This was going to be great.
Gray Venasir | Rika

 

[Lance of Dreams]

​

"Yes," The cyborg nodded, "Lance of Dreams is my chosen name, taken after the passing of my spiritual mentor in their honor. They would be glad to know their name still lives on the mouths of strangers." The cold face of the scientist spoke with a voice of quite reverence, an even pitch throughout, devoid of rises or falls.

<<You are Mir Nehrahn . You were on Parcellus Minor, I believe. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, your companions are well informed.>> Though his mouth did not move, "perfect" Ithorian vibrated away from his face, and while it was distinctly accurate to the language it seemed lacking in the normal inflections or soul he may have been used to; an otherworldly sanitized version of the language.

"Let us enter, yes." The cloak surrounding the form of the mechanical man billowed slightly as it approached the building complex, where they would be greeted by Surronian workers.

<<Your party is complete?>> They would communicate to them.

<<We are, yes.>> Lance of Dreams would similarly reply in the Surronian language, as equally sanitized as his Ithorian. Though individual Surronians were not known for their facial expressions, the body language of the individual drones seemed to indicate a single moment of mild surprise. Lance of Dreams wonder for a moment, if this same reaction rippled throughout the hive, or was merely localized to these two drones. The difference between a shock to the whole body, or an involuntary response in a localized area, like the reflex of a knee being tapped by a metal mallet in some primitives' cultures were knees and mallets applied that he had studied in passing.

The doorway would open into a hallway that lead downward into the earth, like a rocky cavern. Smells registered, and light filtered in, as it became apparent they were entering an impressive network of hydroponic greenhouses snaking throughout the earth and rising very high upwards in multiple transparent levels. At the bottom of the hallway, it was easy to take in and observe at least hundreds of individuals drones, perhaps even thousands.

"Impressive."